Rene, Gerardo, Ramon, Antonio, Fernando: We will always be the Five

René shows certificate from U.S. government that he is no longer a U.S. citizen, Havana. Photo courtesy Granma

Gerardo, Antonio and Ramón send messages to René:  We were, are and will always be the Five

(read the truly moving messages below from the Five)

From the National Committee

Now our dear brother René González is enjoying his freedom in Cuba, making important statements to the Cuban and international media, and giving a special new impulse to the Freedom Struggle of the Cuban Five.

    Sharing in that joyful development are his brothers, almost all who have been able to send messages of solidarity for this happy development. (Fernando was not able to send a message in time, but each speaks for all!)

    On May 9, several days after he renounced his U.S. citizenship, in accordance with the Miami court's agreement for him to remain in Cuba, René González was given the certificate from the U.S. government affirming that he is no longer a U.S. citizen.

    He spoke to the press, saying, "Now I am simply a Cuban citizen, a Cuban patriot, something I have always been, without that implying any ill will toward the people of the United States, toward the country where I was born."

    True to his convictions, René also said, "I will not feel completely free until my four brothers are in the Homeland with their families. I am in Cuba, but we continue being the Five."

    There is much more to do to free Gerardo, Ramón, Antonio, Fernando. There is the very important week of solidarity in Washington DC (calendar link below) the Left Forum in New York City, where we will be part of a Cuban Five panel. We have many activities and public events planned for the rest of the summer and university events starting September. Join us to spread the word and let the U.S. people know of the Five's cause! The people will free the Five!

Messages from Gerardo, Ramón and Antonio:

GERARDO:

    He could have used the same reasons of those who very soon decided to plead guilty and cooperate with the authorities. After long years of separation, he already had at his side Olga and Irmita, and had been able to enjoy for just four months the newborn Ivette.

    What to do? Cling to the principles, leaving the three of them alone in a strange country and face again years of separation? Or "negotiate" and give them what they asked for in exchange for forgiveness and a new life? In his mind there was never a doubt, nor was there in his conduct a moment of hesitation.

    Prosecutors knew they had very little against him, and tried to get him out of the way with offers. It bothered them that he sang "El Necio" (The Fool) and so they got tough on him. No one saw him crying when they separated Olga from the girls and they threw her into a cell. He had to do that in silence, as we all did because of the indignation and pain we felt when we heard the news, but we never noticed even minimal despair from him.

    He fulfilled with dignity every day of his sentence, and came out with his head held as high as when he went in, but yet he still had to suffer the loss of his brother and his father in solitude.

    Today each one of the Five is a little more free. Part of us wander through the streets of this island with him, and we can almost breathe the air, and bathe under the sun.

    Someone asked me if we will now say that we are not five, but four, that would be a mistake! We are five and we will continue to be five! Today we have to continue the fight not only for the other four, but for Rene as well, because we know him, and we know that he will never be really free until we're all back in the homeland. The difference now is that this battle, which will be until the end for the Five, has from this day on a new standard-bearer.

    Congratulations Rene! Your four brothers celebrate with you, proudly!

Hasta La Victoria Siempre!
Gerardo Hernández Nordelo
Victorville Penitentiary
May 3, 2013.


RAMON:

We are overcome with optimism, with joy, because the long-awaited freedom of one of our brothers is now reality. It was time already! After so much delay and injustice! Above all, we feel very relieved that our comrade is no longer in danger of his life, not having to stay one second more in that scenario surrounded by the threats we all know of.

    With him, we four also feel a bit freer. It is as if a part of us is already at home, with our families and friends, in the heart of our people, with our sisters and brothers of the world.

    René is our forward detail. He carries with him the embrace and affection of the Five to all of you. With his presence are all the Five: In each action that is carried out for the good of Cuba and humanity, in his new responsibilities and tasks, in his new missions and dreams. He will be there until finally the Five find ourselves free, in that land that we love so much.

    We are filled with joy and with the optimism that love and truth always win over injustices!

Venceremos!
Five eternal embraces!
Fernando. Gerardo. Antonio. Ramón.
FCI Ashland, Kentucky
May 6, 2013. 9:29 AM


ANTONIO:

    That September 12, with no adjective to describe its violence, I was the last one who arrived in Miami [detention center], and consequently the last one to be placed in an extremely cold cell, with a bare mattress, a blanket and a roll of toilet paper; all of us isolated.

    It was a gloomy silence on that 13th floor of the Miami Detention Center. By purely animal instinct, one begins to walk in circles within that tiny space. From time to time, I would stop before the narrow window on the metal door, where a guard on duty had us under constant surveillance. In a cell in front, at the far edge of my sight, I saw a man who would also stop from time to time at his window. An austere bearded face, his chest bare and I wondered: who is that guy? Isn't he cold?

    It was René, I didn't know him yet.

    In those first days, the first of many countless ones to come, they took us, him and me, to the Courtroom. We had to declare ourselves innocent or guilty, which in our case meant declaring ourselves honorable or dishonorable, honest or dishonest, loyal or traitors. We two were very certain about our innocence. But there was one, whom I also didn't know, who would declare himself guilty. Each one of us was brought separately before the Judge, but René read the treason in the face of that twerp, who tried to wrap me up in his fable. Later, René told me: I have to talk with that guy. I just asked him to be calm.

    That is how I knew him.
    That is how we five became brothers.
    That is why his freedom is our freedom, his pain and happiness is also ours.
    That is why our unjust prison will continue being his prison.

    That is why we were, are and will always be the Cuban Five, forged as one man, one Cuban like millions of compatriots, loyal to his people and his homeland.

Tony Guerrero Rodríguez
May 10, 2013
Marianna Federal Prison

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National Committee to Free the Cuban Five